Kankesanthurai police obstruct by displaying videos!
A complaint was lodged with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) on 7 March regarding a human rights violation of obstructing the work of journalist Rajaratnam Darshan (25) while covering news related to the protest launched by the fishing community alleging that the arrest of fishermen in the Madagala area was illegal. He had stated in the complaint that a Kankesanthurai police officer had videotaped him and threatened.
Darshan, a resident of Sulipuram, Sulipuram West, has included a photograph of two eyewitnesses and documentary evidence of the threat. He said that he had informed the editor about this and that the news about this incident has been posted on the internet and he thinks that there may be an administrative reason for this. He also stressed that those who threaten journalists by showing videos in future should be brought to book.
It has become common for journalists to be photographed and videotaped for security reasons, and such incidents have created a dangerous situation for journalists across the peninsula. According to them, these actions could become weapons used against them in the future. Journalists attending rallies, conferences and agitations especially in Sri Lanka, are regularly monitored by the security forces and the military. They point out that this situation is evident during the war and in the post-war period and that it violates their freedom and rights and is a violation of human rights. Photographing and videotaping does not require prior approval from the media. In a situation where no one has the right to photograph or videotape without the consent and consent of the individual, the security forces have resorted to forcible intimidation and intimidation of journalists.
What is the purpose of videotaping? What are the photos taken for? It seems that the security forces have shied away from the responsibility of explaining. Interference with the freedom and privacy of journalists for security reasons should be condemned. They demand that legal action be taken to prevent such acts.
All journalists are of the view that the activities of the security forces, which operate with the attitude that ‘Tamil journalists are terrorists’, should be condemned.
Journalist Rajaratnam Darshan
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